Advanced Placement Calculus

AP Program Overview: “The Advanced Placement Program is a cooperative educational endeavor between secondary schools and colleges and universities. Since its inception in 1955, the Program has provided motivated high school students with the opportunity to take college-level courses in a high school setting. Students who participate in the Program not only gain college-level skills, but in many cases they also earn college credit while they are still in high school. AP courses are taught by dedicated and enthusiastic high school teachers who follow course guidelines developed and published by the College Board. The Program's success is rooted in the collaborative efforts of motivated students, dedicated teachers, and committed schools. By participating in the Program, secondary schools make the commitment to organize and support at least one class that is equivalent to a first-year college course. Over 90 percent of the nation's colleges and universities have an AP policy granting incoming students credit, placement, or both, for qualifying AP Exam grades.” (overview taken from apcentral.collegeboard.com)

SCPS AP Calculus Overview: Advanced Placement Calculus at Savannah Christian Preparatory School is comprised of differential and integral calculus. The material covered will be the equivalent of that presented in most colleges and universities’ Calculus I course and, in part, their Calculus II course. Our first and primary goal is to teach the students calculus. The secondary goal is to prepare for the AP exam. Although this is our secondary goal, we will spend several weeks at the end of the year specifically preparing for the exam and will do things throughout the year to help prepare the students, as well. Some examples of this preparation are the following: as the AP exam is part multiple-choice and part free-response, our quizzes will be multiple-choice and our tests will be free-response. Also, the AP exam is part with the calculator and part without; therefore, part of each test is with a calculator and part is without a calculator.

The text for this course was specifically chosen for its user-friendliness and ease in reading. Many AP Programs use this book as do many colleges. You may choose to buy your student’s book so that he may make notes and highlight throughout and then take the book with him to college. (New books are $145 and used books are $80.)

SCPS Instructor’s Overview: Many of you know me well as I’ve had the privilege of working with your students over the past few years in some capacity. However, my credentials and accomplishments are vital as an Advanced Placement instructor, so I have listed them below merely for your personal information. Because students may receive college credit for this course, they need to expect the level of difficulty and the work associated with a college class. Students should expect a minimum of an hour of homework and studying each night. If a student is not putting in this kind of time on a regular basis, he may get by in the class, but will not do well on the AP exam at the end of the year. Because the curriculum is set by the College Board, I am not at liberty to slow the pace of the class or adjust the content. If a student does not understand the material covered, he needs to seek extra help outside of class immediately to avoid falling behind as the class must move on. As afore mentioned, the textbook for this class is very user-friendly. We will cover several examples in class, but there will be numerous additional examples in the text to help strengthen the concept in the student’s mind as he studies the text each night. There is no time for whining or complaining about the difficulty of the course or the amount of work required to be successful in it (it is AP after all). These sentiments and attitudes would only slow the rest of the class and weaken the class morale; therefore, they will not be tolerated. Students should be aware of what is expected from the beginning and should only take this course if they are willing to work diligently all the way through to May. According to SCPS policy, all students taking an AP course will take the AP Exam at the end of the year or lose the AP seal and points on their transcript. However, because all students are taking the AP Exam, there will be no final exam given the week of senior exams.

AP website: www.apcentral.collegeboard.com (There is a wealth of information here!)

Instructor Information:
Mrs. Jackie Wetmore
  • Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education (6-12)
  • Masters of Education in Instructional Technology for the K-12 Classroom
  • Georgia Teaching Certificate (Mathematics, 7-12)
  • AP Instructor and course both College Board Audit approved

Tutoring Schedule:
  • Tuesday and Thursday 8:05-8:20am
  • Wednesday 1:15-1:30pm
By appointment to avoid any inconvenience on the student’s part.

Note: There are also links to online calculus tutorials and calculator tutorials on my website (see site address below).

Contact Me:
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. The best way to reach me is through email as I check it several times a day. You may email me from the link at Jupitergrades or on my website, or directly at
jwetmore@savcps.com. (Note: please state your student’s name in the subject line of your email to avoid inadvertent deletion of your message.) You may also call me at the school, but please leave a message with the school secretary. DO NOT leave a message on my voicemail as the voicemail system is not always dependable, and I may not get your message.

Teacher’s Website: http://jackiewetmore.wikispaces.com or you can browse to it through the
school’s directory

Jupitergrades:
Please be sure to update your email addresses, cell numbers, and information on Jupitergrades as that is the way I will contact parents, students, and classes with important information and announcements.



**Home**